THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9409230540
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
The House approved changes in a 108-year-old maritime law Thursday to help U.S. ports break into a lucrative cruise ship business dominated by foreign vessels and foreign ports.
The proposal, included in a Coast Guard spending bill, is intended to promote construction of the ships in U.S. shipyards as well as attract the cruises to U.S. harbors.
If passed, the law could be good news for Hampton Roads shipyards, Newport News Shipbuilding in particular.
``With the booming foreign cruise ship industry, we are seeing thousands of jobs and about $6 billion from our economy literally sailing overseas every year,'' said Rep. Jolene Unsoeld, D-Wash., the proposal's chief sponsor.
The bill, which passed the House on a vote of 402-13, now moves to the Senate.
Under current law, foreign-flagged vessels are prohibited from carrying passengers between two U.S. points. That results in many cruise ships skipping locations such as Seattle to dock in Vancouver, British Columbia, Unsoeld said.
The law was intended to protect U.S. shippers from foreign competition. Under the new proposal, foreign ships would be allowed to operate from U.S. ports on the condition they commit to building a U.S.-flag vessel in a U.S. shipyard.
``Much like the auto industry, our country is finally getting back in the game,'' said Bob Gogerty, chairman of the National Cruise Ship Alliance.
Rep. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the cruise industry has recorded 10 percent annual growth on average since 1980, with 4.4 million passengers in 1992 projected to become 8 million by 2000.
Unsoeld said U.S. shipyards have not built a new cruise vessel in more than 30 years.
``Our entire industry consists of just two ships - both operating inHawaii,'' she said. She estimates that the bill would generate U.S. cruise ship construction equivalent to 24, 1,250-passenger ships between 1994 and 2010.
Newport News Shipbuilding, which constructed the famed liner United States, last built a cruise ship in 1958. The yard has recently gotten back into the cruise ship overhaul business. Indeed, one of the two U.S.-flagged cruise ships is now being overhauled at the Peninsula yard.
The overhaul business should help the yard re-learn the cruise ship business and develop the skills that might enable it to get back into the construction of the passenger liners.
Another area shipyard, Norshipco, has long been a popular yard for cruise ship repairs among lines cruising the Caribbean.
One 1,200-passenger vessel with a crew of 500 would create 1,050 seafaring jobs and generate $40 million to $50 million annually. One visiting cruise ship can bring more than $500,000 to a port city's economy, she said. by CNB